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Established in 1971, the Texas Film Commission was established in order to support the Lone Star State’s growing film community. In recent years, the Commission has also supported the animation and visual effects community by attracting major productions such as Spy Kids as well as productions such as The Ant Bully, and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron. The state is home to the famous South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival (Austin) as well as dozens of animation and visual effects companies.

Texas has the fourth largest collection of accredited colleges in the U.S.. Many of the state’s accredited colleges offer top-tier art and design programs. These schools are at the top of the list based on factors such as variety of programs, quality of programs, convenience, cost, number, and quality of clubs/organizations, class size, and more. Although some of Texas’s top schools are also some of the state’s most expensive schools, these institutions have Title IV status. This makes them eligible for federal financial aid programs and more accessible to students with financial need.

As of March 27, 2012, the state of Texas was home to 106,350 salaried artists. Nearly 1,800 are listed as animators & multimedia artists. They average $57,160 per year, which is higher than the national average salary for all careers, and higher than salaries for animators in at least 20 other states. The highest paid animators in the U.S. average $109,370 and the lowest paid animators average $34,800. In 2002, the average salary was $50,860.

Texas is home to 252 Title IV degree-granting schools. This is the fourth largest number of Title IV schools in the U.S. Many of the state’s Title IV schools are among the best in the nation and because they have Title IV status, these institutions are eligible for federal financial aid programs. This means, even the most expensive schools are accessible to students with financial need.

With a population of more than 27 million, the hearty State of Texas is the second largest state in the U.S. The Lone Star State also has one of the largest collections of colleges in the country (252), the flags of six different nations fly over it, and it is home to some of the largest ranches in the world. In fact, the King Ranch (located in Kingsville) is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island!